Nice, Avignon and heading to Barcelona!
Trains, Buses and Rental Cars!Trains, Buses and Rental Cars!
The next day we were scheduled to take an evening overnight bus to Barcelona. We weren’t looking forward to the 12-hour bus ride, but at least it was direct (no transfers) and it saved us a night of expensive accommodation. Our plans were dashed when we woke up the day of departure with a nice email explaining that our bus was cancelled. They conveniently re-booked us on a bus the next day. On a daytime bus leaving us to find our way in Barcelona after midnight. The worst of both worlds, we’d miss a day of our non-refundable accommodation in Barcelona, plus have to find a place to stay an extra day in the French Riviera--which isn’t known for budget accommodations.
After four calls and multiple hang-ups from FlixBus, we were able to get on an evening bus with a transfer in Avignon, France. We would have to spend time sleeping in the bus station from 1am-6am in Avignon, but at least we would still arrive on schedule in Barcelona and avoid an expensive hotel in Nice. Phew, what a sense of relief! Relief. There is that word again (from a previous post) Unfortunately our relief was short lived. What was supposed to be a bus station in Avignon ended up being a dimly lit, side of the road stop, outside of the fortress walls of the city (Yes, fortress walls!). There was nowhere to sit, or shelter yourself. We were exhausted and the last thing we wanted to do was sit on the gravel on the side of the road for five hours on the outside of a city we had no knowledge of. So…. a walk into the shut down town, and one hotel rejection later we walked ourselves to the opposite end of the town to a hotel that would take us for 90 euros. 90! That is more than we had spent any of our accommodations yet and more than multiple nights of future accommodations. By the time we finally slept for 3.5 hours and it was time to walk across the town again in the dark to our road side bus stop, we learned a few lessons. 1. FlixBus will be our “last resort” option. (Others agree, see picture!) 2. Next time, we will risk the unknown and sleep on the street side somewhere. (Just kidding, Mom! In case you are reading this… If you aren’t reading this, then number 2 might still apply.)
Finally! Barcelona, here we come on a FlixBus that doesn’t have air conditioning, or a bathroom!
After camping in a tent and working outside for 10 days, we decided to use some credit card points and splurge on a nice hotel in France. We stopped for a day in Nice, enjoying the architecture, ocean and food in Nice.
The next day we were scheduled to take an evening overnight bus to Barcelona. We weren’t looking forward to the 12-hour bus ride, but at least it was direct (no transfers) and it saved us a night of expensive accommodation. Our plans were dashed when we woke up the day of departure with a nice email explaining that our bus was cancelled. They conveniently re-booked us on a bus the next day. On a daytime bus leaving us to find our way in Barcelona after midnight. The worst of both worlds, we’d miss a day of our non-refundable accommodation in Barcelona, plus have to find a place to stay an extra day in the French Riviera--which isn’t known for budget accommodations. After four calls and multiple hang-ups from FlixBus, we were able to get on an evening bus with a transfer in Avignon, France. We would have to spend time sleeping in the bus station from 1am-6am in Avignon, but at least we would still arrive on schedule in Barcelona and avoid an expensive hotel in Nice. Phew, what a sense of relief! Relief. There is that word again (from a previous post) Unfortunately our relief was short lived. What was supposed to be a bus station in Avignon ended up being a dimly lit, side of the road stop, outside of the fortress walls of the city (Yes, fortress walls!). There was nowhere to sit, or shelter yourself. We were exhausted and the last thing we wanted to do was sit on the gravel on the side of the road for five hours on the outside of a city we had no knowledge of. So…. a walk into the shut down town, and one hotel rejection later we walked ourselves to the opposite end of the town to a hotel that would take us for 90 euros. 90! That is more than we had spent any of our accommodations yet and more than multiple nights of future accommodations. By the time we finally slept for 3.5 hours and it was time to walk across the town again in the dark to our road side bus stop, we learned a few lessons. 1. FlixBus will be our “last resort” option. (Others agree, see picture!) 2. Next time, we will risk the unknown and sleep on the street side somewhere. (Just kidding, Mom! In case you are reading this… If you aren’t reading this, then number 2 might still apply.) Finally! Barcelona, here we come on a FlixBus that doesn’t have air conditioning, or a bathroom!
More to come--
Linds and Ryan
Aww man well if anyone could make the best of a bad situation it's definitely you two!! Just imagine if I was there with you... Beastly Hilary would definitely come out! Just remember, even the bad parts are all part of the adventure and often make for the best stories!! Love love love reading your posts. Keep 'em coming!!
ReplyDeleteLol, I am reading it, you better not be sleeping in streets! ha ha. You definitely made the right choice getting a hotel than sleeping on a dark street. Sure the next morning when it's light out it's easy to say you could of slept on the street, but you two did the right thing to keep safe. Way to go! Enjoying the blog. Happy travels to you two.
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